A ground-breaking study on the physical and health risks of climate instability.

A Project of: The Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard Medical School; Sponsored by: Swiss Re, United Nations Development Programme.

Climate is the context for life on earth. Global climate change and the ripples of that change will affect every aspect of life, from municipal budgets for snowplowing to the spread of disease. Climate is already changing, and quite rapidly. With rare unanimity, the scientific community warns of more abrupt and greater change in the future.

Many in the business community have begun to understand the risks that lie ahead. Insurers and reinsurers find themselves on the front lines of this challenge since the very viability of their industry rests on the proper appreciation of risk.

In the case of climate, however, the bewildering complexity of the changes and feedbacks set in motion by a changing climate defy a narrow focus on sectors. For example, the effects of hurricanes can extend far beyond coastal properties to the heartland through their impact on offshore drilling and oil prices. Imagining the cascade of effects of climate change calls for a new approach to assessing risk.

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